


Promises We Made To Ourselves

by BleedingInk



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Demons, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Lesbian Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:54:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26569882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleedingInk/pseuds/BleedingInk
Summary: With Ruby's help, the Winchesters set up to find a powerful demon that could help them defeat the greater evil. However, when they awaken him, they end up separated and hurt in an unfamiliar place. Ruby nurses Mary back to health while Mary fights off some desires that she never thought she could indulge in.
Relationships: Ruby/Mary Winchester
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RenLuthor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RenLuthor/gifts).



> So this was written as a request on my blog. I swear I didn't mean for it to be this long (lol). If you want to request a fic for me, just shoot me a message on Tumblr! (inkbleeder.tumblr.com). I'm always happy to please!

Mary had lost the notion of how long they had been walking through the silent forest before Dean asked:

“Are you sure we’re going in the right direction?”

Ruby stopped on her tracks and threw a glare in his direction.

“Would I lie to you, Dean?”

“Yes,” Dean said at the same time Sam said: “Absolutely.”

Ruby scoffed, as if it was offensive to her that they would think that, when it was actually the most reasonable thing in the world.

Since Castiel had pulled her out of the Empty, the Winchester had kept a close eye on her. She had betrayed them before after all, and no matter how much she said that she wanted to help now, she was still a demon. Which was the reason Mary had been saddled with babysitting her for the past few days.

“She knows how to get into my mind and Dean… Dean would just stab her again before she could tell us something useful,” Sam had explained when he handed Mary the keys to Ruby’s handcuffs. “You’re the only one she can’t get to.”

“What about Cas?” Mary had protested.

“He and Jack already have their hands full. Please, mom. The only way we can turn our backs on her safely is if we know that you have a gun pointing at hers.”

Guns wouldn’t do much against Ruby, except perhaps slow her down. Mary hadn’t pointed that out, but she had made sure to keep an angel blade on her at all times. Watching Ruby while the boys made sure the hint she had given them was legitimate was a full time job, even when the demon did something as seemingly inoffensive as sitting on the other side of the table and watch her while Mary cleaned her weapons.

“What?” she’d groaned at her after a while.

“You know, there was a lot of chatter about you in Hell,” Ruby told her. “Mary Winchester, the woman who birthed our savior, who allowed Azazel to feed him the blood…”

“Watch your mouth,” Mary had warned her.

She didn’t want to think about it, the deal she had made and all the pain that had brought to her children, to Sam, especially. The consequences one of her most selfish, desperate moments had had on the entire world.

“Hey, I’m not judging you,” Ruby had said, raising her hands, at least as much as her handcuffs let her. “We just do whatever we must for those we love, don’t we?”

“You’re a demon. You know nothing about love.”

Ruby leaned back on her chair. If Mary had thought she had feelings, she would’ve been certain they were hurt. It was hard, sometimes, to remember that she wasn’t the young woman she was pretending to be, that there was a twisted corrupted soul that could not be trusted behind her mask of cockiness and charm. Sam and Dean had recognized her immediately, which meant she was still wearing the same meatsuit she did back when she’d convinced Sam to drink demon blood in order to stop Lucifer and then betrayed him.

Mary understood the allure. With her full lips, long dark hair and olive skin, Ruby was beautiful. Through the years, Mary had found many women beautiful, but it being deemed inappropriate back in her day and then getting married to John had made her push those thoughts and feelings into the back of her mind. Still, since coming back from the dead, she had found a lot of things had changed and there were words for what she felt. But even if she were to act on those attractions, it wouldn’t be with someone as dangerous as Ruby.

Sam and Dean walked back into the library, with the laptop open and maps.

“So? Did I tell the truth?” Ruby asked, her voice dripping with irony.

Sam and Dean both had glared at her before turning towards Mary.

“There was a disturbance in those woods around eighty years ago, an earthquake of sorts,” Sam had explained, showing her the research on his screen. “Could be all sort of things…”

“It was Anakag,” Ruby had insisted. “One of the oldest demons around. He didn’t like the way Azazel was running things, tried to incite a rebellion, so dear old Az locked him up there.”

“Yeah, you mentioned all of that already…”

“Did I mention he was a white-eyed demon?” Ruby had asked. “You need one of those for the spell you’re cooking, don’t you?”

If they hadn’t been so desperate, Mary was sure, they wouldn’t have even bothered to listen to Ruby. But the spell was practically the only hope they had left.

So there they were, walking through miles and miles of wilderness. Dean had been of the idea to leave Ruby in the bunker, but Sam had argued it would be faster to find the spot where Anakag was locked away. Mary wasn’t happy about it, but she had to agree with her younger son. The more they walked into the forest, however, the more she had to watch Ruby’s back, the more she was tempted to just put an angel blade through her heart and be done with her.

That wasn’t part of the deal they’d made with her, but she suspected her sons didn’t have the intention to honor it even if Anakag’s blood turned out to be helpful. There was just too much history between them and Ruby.

Ruby stopped in her tracks. Her entire demeanor changed. Her shoulders were tense and a shiver went down her spine. Her voice didn’t sound as cocky as usual when she said:

“We’re close.”

“You can just sense that with your demon sixth sense, don’t you?” Dean asked.

Ruby ignored his quip and started walking faster, past them, ignoring them completely.

“Hey!” Mary warned her, going after. “Hey, you stay where we can see you…”

It turned out, there was no need for it. A few steps away, the trees opened up and they found a clearing.

Well, it looked like a clearing, but there was something wrong with it. In a normal clearing, there would be grass or flowers growing, but this one was entirely too empty. The ground was blackened and barren, like it had been burned and salted. Most telling of all, the place was a perfect circle.

“Well, there you have it,” Ruby said.

She still sounded a little intimidated, and Mary couldn’t blame her. Even if they hadn’t known there was a demon sleeping dormant under that scorched earth, there was something about the air, about the way the animals seemed to avoid that clearing, that indicated that there was something wrong and unnatural about that place.

“Okay, fine,” Dean said. “Now what?”

“Now we rouse our friend Anakag from his sleep and get his blood,” Ruby said, taking a step forwards.

Sam immediately stretched his arm out, blocking her from moving.

“ _You_ don’t do anything,” he told her, firmly. “ _You_ are just going to stand back here and _we_ are going to perform the ritual.”

Ruby rolled her eyes at him.

“Suit yourself, Sam.”

“Mom?” Dean said.

Mary stood closer to Ruby and placed the tip of the angel blade against her back, pressing it just enough against her so that the demon could sense it.

“All of this is really unnecessary,” Ruby complained. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“We’re just making sure,” Mary replied.

Sam dropped the duffle bags on the floor, opened them and handed a shovel to Dean. They stepped into the clearing, their shoes sinking on the darkened ground the more they moved towards the center of the circle.

“What can we expect?” Mary asked.

“Oh, now you want my answers, momma?” Ruby replied. Mary pressed the tip of the angel blade a little harder against her skin and Ruby sighed. “I don’t know. Could be a pile of bones, could be a very angry demon. Anakag has been dormant for the better part of a century. He’s not gonna be pleased and he’s not gonna be pretty, that’s for sure.”

Sam opened the book and started reciting the Latin spells while Dean sank the shovel on the ground and started removing the dirt.

The change in the atmosphere wasn’t immediate, but when it started, it was undeniable. That part of the woods was still unnaturally quiet, so when the wind picked up and rustled through the branches above their head, it was startling, even before it became hurricane-like. Sam kept talking, kept reciting the spell while Dean hit the ground rhythmically, the hole growing around his ankles with every movement.

Mary’s unease grew along with it.

“Boys…” she started, but then the shovel hit something.

Sam finished the reciting. Dean removed a last bit of earth.

“Wakey, wakey, Anadick,” he mumbled as he leaned forwards.

Mary stepped closer to the clearing, all without losing sight of Ruby. The demon had her mouth close in a tight line, leaning slightly forwards with something like curiosity in her eyes. Mary was shocked to notice that. She hadn’t expected to see something so… human in her.

She was good at pretending to be a human, of course.

It happened so fast that Mary didn’t even have to complete that thought.

Dean screamed out and stumbled backwards, as a pale large hand punched up. Sam jumped away, but the demon was already rising from his grave. He wore an old, raggedy suit and his face was contorted in a grimace of pure rage. His milky white eyes fell on Sam. He reached for him, with a terrible roar.

Sam fell backwards, barely avoiding Anakag’s grip.

“Dean, the gun!”

Dean scrambled to his feet and cocked his weapon, but the demon was faster. He turned around and grabbed his hand, twisting it in a weird angle. Dean screamed out as his bones cracked and the gun slid from his hands.

Mary had seen enough. She ran past Ruby, raising the angel blade.

Anakag turned towards her. His mouth was open and black, letting out a howl that pierced Mary’s ears. She had time to catch a whiff of dirt and sulfur emanating from him before he raised his hand at her.

There was a flash of white light, someone screamed out for her and then she was flying through the air, unable to control the shaking of her body.

She landed on something hard. A hard pain went through the back of her hair like a lightning strike and then everything was black.

* * *

Ruby opened her eyes. She was lying next to a stream that she was certain they had passed on their way to Anakag’s clearing, miles back. She didn’t remember much, except for the wave of power that had hit her square in the chest. There were no signs of Sam and Dean around, and the wave of power that she’d been following to find Anakag seemed to be… moving, further and further away from her. Whatever had happened to the Winchester boys, it was obvious the other demon was now on the run.

Great.

She sat up, shaking her head to move away the locks of hair that had fallen over her eyes. The sun had moved across the sky, almost reaching the horizon now, which meant he had been out for at least a couple of hours. She still had the stupid handcuffs on and…

Mary Winchester laid a few steps away from her. There was blood on her forehead and dirt on her clothes. Her eyes were closed. Was she dead? Ruby staggered to her feet and walked up to her. She didn’t try touching her at first, but it was clear to see that her chest was rising and falling still.

An idea went through Ruby’s mind. She knelt next to Mary and, as delicately as she could, she started going through her pockets. She found brass knuckles engraved with Enochian symbols, a Swiss army knife, extra bullets with Devil traps carved into them… and finally, the keys. She pulled them out and quickly opened her handcuffs, letting them fall to the ground as she rubbed her wrists. Her power roused after being depleted for so long and she let out a sigh of relief.

She could go anywhere. She could disappear from this forest right now and lay low while the Winchesters dealt with the threat of impending doom and the maddened demon they had awoke. It had nothing to with her, all she wanted was to get out of the Empty and now she had. She was free to do whatever the hell she pleased, and it was definitely not staying with them.

She closed her eyes, rousing the power inside of her… and she didn’t find it. She looked down at her hands, but no, her wrists were free. She was free. She should be able to just leave, but for some reason, that wasn’t happening. Maybe it was a leftover of what Anakag had done?

Mary groaned and shifted where she was, but her eyes didn’t open. Ruby looked at her.

“Sorry, momma. I got to look out for myself,” she muttered as she stood up.

She could always walk. Just take a walk through the woods. There was nothing wrong with it, even counting the fact she had just finished a prolonged hike through the wilderness with the Winchesters. It was good for help to stretch her muscles, to stretch her power…

She could still hear Mary’s groans and gasps. She walked faster. She could just go. She didn’t owe them anything. She could just leave Mary there. Outside. In the cold. With the night falling over her head. With a maddened, extremely powerful demon running amok. With no way for her to contact her sons once she woke up. If she woke up.

Ruby stopped. The leaves rustled under her boots. She should leave. The smart thing would be to leave. She had no doubt in her mind the Winchesters would find a way to blame her for everything that had gone wrong. It wasn’t in her best interest to stay.

But she couldn’t. It was a conscience, exactly, that made her stay. Her sense of duty had been fucked since finding out that Lucifer never meant to reward her, even if she hadn’t died. So it wasn’t that, exactly, that made her retrace her steps until she was once again standing over Mary’s unconscious body. No, it wasn’t that that made her pick her up, put her hand around Mary’s waist and hold her up against her own body. She knew she couldn’t expect thanks for this.

She still moved through the trees supporting her weight against hers.

* * *

The cold came like a welcome relief. Mary hadn’t even realized how much her head hurt until that moment. Her entire body felt heavy, like she had been run over by a truck (or like a demon had hit her with the full force of his power) and she was definitely disoriented and tired, but she was thankful for the cold, damp feeling of the cloth against her aching head.

She reveled in it for a few moments as consciousness returned to her and with it, a lot of the questions that she should have been asking herself in the first place: where was she? What had happened to Sam and Dean? Where was Anakag?

Who was holding the cloth against her forehead?

She opened her eyes. The golden glow of the lamp against her head was like a hammer against her still aching skull, so she closed them again immediately with a moan of pain.

“Hey,” a soft voice came to her. Soft hands brushed against her face. “It’s okay. You have a concussion. It’s going to be okay.”

Mary grunted. She recognized the voice, but her thoughts were still too blurry and too fuzzy for her to place exactly who it was. But if they were tending her wounds, if they had brought her there (wherever there was), then she must have been a friend. She should feel safe, shouldn’t it?

Or maybe she was simply too tired to examine that belief any further.

She sank in the darkness once again.

When she opened her eyes, the person taking care of her had thankfully turned off the lamp. The only light that bathed the room was a soft moon beam and the stars shining beyond the window. Mary laid there, watching the beautiful night sky for several minutes before it hit her that she must have been somewhere far away from civilization, far away from any light contamination.

Was she still in the forest?

She sat up, but the room spun around her and the walls closed on her, so she had to lay back down and close her eyes again. She touched her forehead, the same spot where she had felt the cold cloth earlier (or had that been a dream?) and discovered she had a small butterfly bandage on it. Slowly, she moved her legs and hands, to make sure everything else was in order. Nothing seemed to be broken or sprained, despite the dull ache in her muscles, so she assumed the only thing really wrong was her head.

A concussion. The person taking care of her had mentioned a concussion.

How did they know, though?

Mary sat back up again, slowly this time, giving herself time to adjust to the change in position. She was in a simple room somewhere, with unadorned walls covered with wood panels. She was in a double bed, with covers that smelled a little like naphthalene. There was a bitter taste in her mouth and her stomach, now that she was awake, was growling for her attention. Someone had taken off her jacket and shoes, but she still had her shirt and jeans on.

No weapons of any kind. She would have to improvise.

She grabbed unto the headboard of the bed and slowly got herself up to her feet on the carpeted floor. She didn’t trust her own balance, so she leaned against the wall all the way towards the door.

There was a short hall and some stairs on the other side. Mary suppressed a huff of tiredness and grabbed unto the rails. She managed to get down two steps before everything started spinning around her and she had to sit down.

The faint smell of food reached her nose. Some sort of roasted meat. Her stomach growled and suddenly she realized her mouth was extremely dry. How long had it been since she had eaten or drunk anything?

She managed to go down the rest of the steps by stopping every few seconds and keeping her eyes fixed on her own feet.

The lower floor was just as cozy and small as the rest of the house. The big open space showed a living room with two armchairs, a chimney and a shotgun hanging from the wall between the mounted heads of two deer with majestic antlers. Mary stared at it for a second, wondering if she could grab it silently enough and where she could find some ammunition for it, when she became aware of a soft hum coming from the right.

Another stepped revealed a small kitchen to the side, separated from the living room by a wooden isle with stools lined up in front of it. The smell of meat was stronger there.

And someone was moving in front of the oven.

Mary eyed the shotgun and made a decision. Even if it wasn’t loaded, it was better than taking another step empty-handed. She yanked it from the wall and held it up. Her aiming wouldn’t be the best with how groggy and dizzy she still felt, but it was better than not having anything.

The person in the kitchen was a brunette woman and she was humming a tune that Mary recognized as “Blackbird”. Mary took another step, as silently as she could.

The woman stood up and turn around. Mary was certain that her eyes were playing tricks on her or that her concussion was making her hallucinate, because what she was seeing simply made no sense. Ruby wore a blue apron over her clothes and had a roasting tray in her hands. No oven mittens, of course. She was a demon, she didn’t need them.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, as if they were both equally surprised for what they were saying.

“Mary,” Ruby said, immediately leaving the trail over the isle. “I was about to see if you’d woke up.”

She took off the apron and stepped around.

“Don’t come closer!” Mary threatened her, with the shotgun towards her. Ruby rolled her eyes at her.

“You know that’s not going to kill me.”

“It can still hurt you.”

“Not without ammo, it won’t.”

She had a point there, but Mary still didn’t put the shotgun down.

“You’re going to answer some questions for me,” she demanded.

“Of course. Anything you want.”

Mary hated that. This would have been a lot easier if Ruby at least pretended to be nervous or scared of her presence, but the demon leaned down against the wall, with a hand on her hip and an eyebrow crooked towards her, completely calm and collected.

“Where are we?”

“By the looks of it, a hunter’s cabin…”

“And where is this cabin?”

“Anakag’s forest, several miles away from his clearing, though,” Ruby said. “I found this little cabin and brought you here.”

“Why?”

“Because you were passed out from the concussion. Doesn’t your head hurt? I found some aspirins in the first aid kid.”

Mary bit the inside of her cheek. There was a weird pressure over her temples, sure, but she wasn’t about to admit to that.

“Where are my boys?”

“No clue.”

“Don’t lie to me, demon!”

“I’m not!” Ruby assured her, lifting her hands. “Anakag attacked, he hit us with whatever unholy power he had and transported us a few miles from where he was. We ended up in close proximity out of pure chance.”

“And you just happened to be able to remove your cuffs?”

“I might have gone through your pockets.” Ruby shrugged, with a sly smirk on her lips. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“For what?”

“I could have left you by the stream to become a bear’s snack, but I didn’t.”

“Am I supposed to give you brownie points for that?”

“Oh, no. I had entirely selfish reasons.”

“Such as?”

Ruby licked her lips. Her hesitation lasted just a few seconds, but they were noticeable anyway.

“My relationship with your sons is already strained,” she said in the end. “Had I let you die, they probably would’ve stabbed me. Again.”

It made sense, and yet, Mary wasn’t inclined to believe her.

“Why do you care if they like you or not?”

“Because they are literally fighting something that could kills us at any given second and I like living,” Ruby replied. “I’ve son what the boys are capable of. If anyone has the chance to defeat this thing, it’s you, Winchesters. So for now, you can trust that I’m going to be in my best behavior.”

“I’m never going to trust you.”

“That is your choice to make, momma. So, if you’re done with the dramatics, you should come to eat. Dinner’s getting cold.”

Ruby turned her back on her and headed back for the kitchen.

“Hey, I’m not done…” Mary said. She took a step forwards… and immediately realized her mistake.

The floor was too far away for her feet. The room’s walls closed in on her for a terrifying second and she would have lost her balance had Ruby not been there to catch her.

“Woah, okay,” she said, holding Mary up with one hand. With the other, she pulled away from the shotgun. Mary was too weak and disoriented to prevent her from taking it, but Ruby just laid it against the back of the couch. So she could get to it again if she needed to.

And if her head would stop trying to make her pass out every time she did.

“Okay, you need to have some dinner and water and then I’m gonna put you to bed.”

“I don’t need you to put me to bed!” Mary protested. “I need you to get us both the hell out of here so we can find my boys! I know you can do it!”

“Yeah… about that…”

Ruby guided her towards the isle and propped her up on a stool, while she told her she had tried, for several hours, to teleport them both out of the woods with no success.

“I think it might be a spell of some kind, or maybe Anakag’s influence. Whatever the case, we’re gonna have to leave the old fashion way,” she explained, as she carved into the meat she’d been cooking and left a generous portion on a plate she then slid towards Mary. “And you’re in no condition to do that, so we’re gonna have to wait until you’re feeling better to try, okay?”

She set a fork and knife next to a plate and a glass filled to the brim with water. Mary looked down at the food and even though the growling of her stomach was now loud enough that she felt like the entire forest could hear it, she didn’t start eating right away.

“What kind of meat is this?”

“Deer,” Ruby said, smiling. “I hunted it with my own bare hands.”

Mary had no doubt she was capable of doing just that, but she had her doubts. Maybe Ruby had shot it, which meant there had to be bullets somewhere in the cabin.

“I promise it’s not poisoned if that’s what you’re thinking,” Ruby said, rolling her eyes. “Come on. When we leave, I expect you to be able to walk on your own.”

She had a point there, though Mary never would’ve admitted it out loud. She reluctantly cut a piece of the meat and placed it on her mouth. It tasted… pretty okay. It was tender and juicy or maybe she was just so hungry that she wouldn’t have even noticed if there was anything wrong with it.

She cut another piece and another, and before she even realized, she had eaten half of it.

“Good, huh?” Ruby said. Mary couldn’t tell if her tone was genuinely mocking or if she was really proud of her cooking abilities.

“It needs some salt,” Mary replied.

Ruby tilted her head. They both knew the real reason Mary was asking about it.

“I got rid of it.”

“It was worth the shot,” Mary sighed.

There was something to be said about having some food in her stomach. She didn’t feel as crappy as before, but she still needed to lean on Ruby as they walked back to the bedroom upstairs. She hated being this weak; so dependent on a creature she couldn’t trust.

So far, however, Ruby was behaving. She didn’t touch her any more than she needed to and once Mary was sat on the bed again, she backed away once more into the wall.

“Well, you should get some sleep,” the demon said. “You still need to recover.”

Mary stared at her for a very long time until she was forced to ask:

“What?”

“I don’t feel comfortable sleeping with you on the loose.”

“Seriously?” Ruby huffed. “After everything I did for you?”

“I don’t trust you,” Mary reminded her. “I am never going to trust you.”

If she knew her a little better, Mary would’ve said Ruby looked offended at her words.

“Fine.” She scoffed and turned her back to open the closet. She pulled a duffle bag from inside it and threw it on the bed, muttering curses under her breath.

“What are you…?” Mary started asking, but she was stunned into silence when Ruby pulled the last thing that she expected her to: the demon cuffs. “You kept those?”

“I kept a bunch of things that I thought would be useful for when we get the hell out of here,” Ruby replied. She extended the handcuffs towards Mary, their chain tinkling as she did.

Mary tentatively grabbed them and looked them over. All the symbols seemed to be intact. Ruby even handed her the keys along with them with another:

“What?”

“I just… thought you’d throw these in a river or something at the first chance you got,” Mary answered, sincerely.

“Right now, I’m wishing I did,” Ruby replied. She offered Mary her hands. She didn’t even flinch when the cuffs close around them. “Alright. So you can sleep soundly now and I’ll… be here.”

She looked around for a spot to sit, but the only one available was the window’s still. It seemed too narrow for her, but she leaned against it all the same with a groan.

Mary watched her in silence all throughout. She was still half-convinced there was a catch, a trap that Ruby was laying out for her. She couldn’t have rescued her and tended to her wounds out of the goodness of her heart, because there was no goodness in her heart. Even her excuse that the boys would be mad at her if she died was weak. Or maybe it made all the sense in the world and Mary simply couldn’t see if because of how exhausted she still was.

She laid down against the pillows. Her bones creaked and she had to bite her tongue not to let out a moan of pain.

“You okay?” Ruby asked her. “There are some painkillers in the first aid kit…”

“No, thank you.” There was no way she was going to impede her judgment even more than it already was with the stupid concussion and whatnot.

Ruby sighed, noisily.

“I am just trying to help.”

“You’re trying to help yourself,” Mary shot back.

“Yes,” Ruby admitted. “Can you trust that’s at least enough of a reason for me not to want to murder you in your sleep?”

Mary didn’t answer. Instead she willed her body to relax against the mattress. Because she wanted to be out of there and checking in on her boys as soon as it was humanly possible.

* * *

The following day was more of the same. Mary slept through most of the daylight, woke up groggy and dizzy and eat some more roasted deer that Ruby prepared every day. It was a boring routine, made even worse by the fact the only time Ruby could spend out of her cuffs was when Mary was awake enough to keep an eye on her. So she couldn’t go out hunting or do much else than sitting in the room and watch the hunter sleep.

Not that it was a terrible thing to do, either. Mary was a beautiful woman, with her wavy blonde hair, high cheeks and cute nose. Not to mention her lean, muscular body. She was no dainty housewife, she was a warrior built to fight things that went bump in the night (things like Ruby herself) and it was baffling that anyone could have ever thought otherwise. She could definitely see where the boys had got it from.

Ruby had never been one to turn down any sort of company when it was offered. It had been one the reason she’d ended up burned at the stake that one time, many centuries ago. The others were, of course, her dealings with demons and practice of witchcraft, but the fact she had seduced the tailor’s daughter also played a part on it. She knew then how to make people look at her twice, how to take advantage of pretty looks and casual touches and soft insinuations. It had come very in handy when she was trying to convince Sam to do Lilith’s bidding.

She wasn’t sure how it would help her now, though. Any pass she made at Mary would be met with the same hostility she had displayed so far whenever Ruby tried to make a friendly suggestion of any kind.

“I don’t see how that is going to help us get out of this cabin any faster,” Mary said one time, crossing her arms over her chest and shooting Ruby a killing glare.

“Well, it might not heal your head faster, but it will make you stink less. And trust me, for those of us that have an acute sense of smell…”

Mary groaned at her and stared into the cup of water between her hands. Ruby knew that she was debating it. She had been in those clothes for the past two days, mostly slipping in and out of consciousness, but also fighting demons and sweating. She couldn’t be feeling all that great about it herself, but since Ruby had suggested it, of course Mary felt like she had to protest and put up a fight regarding it.

Ruby really wished Mary would get over herself already and accept her help and suggestions. It would all be much smoother if she did, but she also understood she needed to be patient. It was one of her few virtues, after all.

“There’s a tub in the back. I’ll wash your clothes while you soak in it. I’m sure the hunter that owns this place has some clean clothes somewhere.”

Mary protested and huffed a little more, but in the end, she marched into the bathroom and threw her clothes out through a crack in the door. Ruby wondered if it would be easier to burn them instead, but she figured there must have been some sort of sentimental value to them. All the Winchesters were too attached to their plaid shirts.

“I was thinking something,” Mary’s voice came from inside the bathroom while Ruby soaked her clothes. “Are you still unable to teleport?”

“Why, you want me to leave you here?” Ruby asked.

“Of course not,” Mary groaned. There was some splashing of water as she settled in the bathtub.

Ruby focused on scrubbing, trying not to think that the hunter was so close, entirely naked, all that sun-kissed skin on display. She focused so hard on not thinking about it she missed the next thing Mary said.

“What?”

“You said that it depended on what Anakag did,” Mary repeated. “So if you still can’t use your full powers, does that mean he’s still around?”

That was actually a very good question. Ruby stopped for a second and stared outside of the window, letting her power extend around the woods. She felt nothing strange or powerful, nothing that stirred her or made her recoil. She informed this to Mary as she hanged her clothes on the back of the couches. She waved her hand and tried to will the water away, but just as everything else, it didn’t work.

“I don’t know what he did to me,” Ruby admitted. “But even though he isn’t around, I’m still depowered.”

“Well, that’s…” Mary started, but then she went quiet. Ruby frowned at the bathroom’s door.

“Were you going to say that’s good?”

“No…”

“Because it’s not good at all!” Ruby screamed. “It’s annoying and we could be out of here in a second with the snap of my fingers if it weren’t for this!”

There was some more splashing on the other side of the door and Mary opened it, emerging in the middle of a cloud of vapor. She clutched a towel to her chest and her hair dripped over her shoulders, joining the droplets that were already glistening on her body.

“I’m already worried about you enough as it is,” she told Ruby. “I hate being stuck here with you and I hate that we don’t know where my boys are. The only consolation I have is that at least you’re not going to break my neck with a gesture of your hand.”

“Oh, please!” Ruby stepped closer to her, so Mary couldn’t escape her gaze. “How many times do I have to prove that I’m on your side? What would be enough for you?!”

There was something very odd on Mary’s expression. A flicker of her eyes drawing down to Ruby’s lips, the way her body tensed and her hands clutched the towel closer to herself. She didn’t full on moved away, but Ruby had seen people recoiling enough that she could recognize that was what Mary was trying to stop herself from doing it.

It wasn't out of fear, though. Mary Winchester would never back down for something as banal as fear, something she had learned to control enough to go against the most terrible mosnters that roamed the earth. If she was afraid of Ruby, she simply wasn't going to show it.

No, it was something else. It was... disgust, almost. Like Ruby was something awful and corrupting and Mary needed to get out of her area of influence quick.

For some reason, that enraged Ruby even more than anything else.

"Oh, what's the matter?" she asked, letting her voice turn into a mocking pitch as she came even closer to Mary. "The big, bad demon is making you feel uncomfortable?"

"Stop," Mary hissed.

"Are you scared of me?" Ruby kept asking, tilting her head. She was so close to her now that she could smell the water on her skin, feel the closeness her skin irradiated. She let her eyes turn pitch black. "Are you angry that I rescued you? You know a simple thanks could go a long way for us to be friends..."

"Get away from me."

"Or what? What are you gonna do, momma?" Ruby asked.

She grabbed Mary by the wrist before the hunter could move away again. Mary jumped at her contact, but to Ruby's surprise, she didn't raise her fist to hit her or tried to push her away. She simply froze in place, her lips parted in a silent yelp of surprise, her eyes growing wider. Her pulse quickened under Ruby's fingers and suddenly, the demon understood.

Even if she hadn't been able to read Mary's thoughts, to smell the adrenaline suddenly shooting into her bloodstream, she would've understood it just by the way Mary's eyes fell on her.

It wasn't disgust, or maybe it was, but not for Ruby.

No, what she was seeing there was the last she expected to see in her face.

Want. Desire. Despair.

The surprise was enough for her to loosen her grip and Mary immediately freed herself from it, finally stepping back. She moved so fast, though, that her bare feet slipped on the pool of water that had formed underneath her or maybe her concussion was still wreaking havoc in her sense of balance.

Whatever the case, Ruby moved fast: she snaked an arm around Mary's waist to prevent her from falling and pulled her closer. The curves of the hunter's body against her sent a shiver of excitement down her spine.

Ruby had never been one to turn away the forbidden.

Mary, however, might have needed a little more convincing. She put her arms on Ruby’s shoulder and tried to push her away, but even as someone as formidable as her didn’t have a chance against her demonic force.

“Mary,” Ruby breathed out and the hunter froze. Ruby moved her face closer to her, their lips so close they were almost touching.

But she didn’t close the last distance between them. If Mary was brave enough to kill thousands of her kind, she was brave enough to ask what she wanted —what she _needed_ — from Ruby.

She might have needed a little bit more a push, by the way things were going.

Mary opened her eyes and looked down at her. They were burning and her voice was weak when she asked:

“What are you doing?”

Ruby didn’t answer. If it wasn’t obvious by now, then there was no point in speaking. She would have to show her. She placed her other arm around Mary’s shoulder and her open hand on the back of her head.

“Stop…”

Ruby devoured Mary’s plea with a kiss. Her lips were cold and her breathing was trembling. Her muscles became rigid in Ruby’s arms, so after a few seconds, she let go. Mary’s eyes were half-closed, her lips puckered as if she expected more.

“Do you really want me to stop?” Ruby asked, tilting her head.

This time it was Mary who moved forwards. She did it hard and fast, clumsily so her chattering teeth got caught on Ruby’s lower lip before her tongue slipped in her mouth. That was a lot more like it. Ruby laid her down on the carpeted floor, fumbling to move the towel aside as Mary’s hand slid underneath her shirt. The demon moved her mouth down to her neck at the same time she cupped one of Mary’s tits, circling her hardened, darkened nipples with her thumb.

She was rewarded with a moan so long and grave it was like it came from the very depth of Mary’s lung, from her stomach, from something so deep and so primal that had been long repressed.

Ruby thought about teasing her, about stopping her and asking her how long she had been wanting this, how long she’d been avoiding it, but she didn’t want to give her a chance to regain her reason. If this was a fluke, Ruby had no qualms about making the most of it.

She nipped and nibbled at Mary’s neck as her hand slid down her smooth stomach, all the way down to her mound. Her fingers tangled on the fine, blonde hairs as she positioned herself better, her legs straddling over Mary so she couldn’t get from underneath her until she was done. Then she slid her fingers between the folds of the hunter’s cunt.

It surprised her to find her so wet and so ready. Mary arched her hips up, as another moan escaped from her. Ruby worked her thumb over her clit, in slow, lazy circles, as she went deeper and deeper with her index, reaching deep inside her as Mary writhed and screamed out, too far gone to fight it off at all.

It was a thing of beauty, how easy she became undone.

Afterwards, she laid down on the towel, too spent to even move, with Ruby’s weight on top of her. Her chest rose and fell and her eyes continued close for several seconds. Ruby just watched her closely, taking in her expression. For the first time since she’d woken up in that cabin, Mary looked… almost peaceful.

It didn’t last at all, of course.

She shivered and Ruby took off her jacket to cover her.

“You really should go get dress.”

Mary opened her eyes and it was like the reality of what they’d done hit her all at once. She pushed Ruby away, threw her jacket to the side and staggered to her feet, grabbing the towel to cover herself once more. She didn’t say anything or looked at Ruby at all as she fled upstairs.

Ruby sat on the floor, watching her go. She knew there was nothing at all she could say and there was a good chance that after this, Mary would take her chances on the woods even without her.

Had it been worth it?

Ruby raised her fingers, still wet from Mary’s juices and licked at them. The clean flavor tickled her tongue and sent a wave of excitement through her entire body. She kept lapping at it, trying to take it all in, as she unbuckled her jeans with her other hand and started pleasuring herself.

Yes. Of course it had been.


	2. Chapter 2

What the fuck was wrong with her?

The question echoed through Mary’s mind over and over as she slid into the clean clothes Ruby had left for her on the bed. The owner of the cabin was a bulkier man than Mary, but it didn’t matter. What matter right now was to have her body covered, because she couldn’t bear to look at it right now.

It was one thing to notice that Ruby was a beautiful woman (was _wearing_ the face of a beautiful woman) and it was another entirely to let her guard down around her like she had, to let her…

She felt dirty. She felt guilty.

She had enjoyed it like nothing else in a very long time.

She sat down on the bed, forcing herself to breathe in and out slowly. Her boys had warned her about Ruby, about her tricks and how seductive she could be. They hadn’t told her she could also make someone feel taken care of, how easy she could lull them into a sense of security and how she had managed to look past beyond what Mary had been trying to hide. Maybe she had been more conspicuous than she thought. Maybe she should have fought Ruby off the moment she put her hands on her.

But she had been so tense and so stressed out, so tired those days, that she couldn’t have helped but to enjoy the release. She had relished in it.

And what the hell was she supposed to do now? She hated that Ruby knew she held that sort of power over her. She hated that she still couldn't escape that place, because she had no idea where she even was and how many miles of wilderness she would have to walk before she was anywhere safe. So for now, she was still at the mercy of the demon.

As if to remind her of that fact, Ruby appeared on the doorway. Mary straightened her back and glared at her. This time, she wouldn't be caught by surprise. If she tried anything else...

But Ruby kept her distance.

"You want to talk about it or just pretend like it didn't happen?" she asked, crooking an eyebrow.

The question unbalanced the fury Mary had been hosting and just added more to her confusion.

"Can you pretend like it didn't happen?" she asked, skeptical.

"I am very good at pretending." Ruby shrugged.

Mary scoffed and stood up. The room didn't offer much in the way of distance, but she still felt a bit better once she was leaning against the wall, as far from Ruby as she could.

"Of course you are," she muttered, sarcastically. She felt like she wanted to say something else, perhaps to insult the demon and get her away from her, but either the turmoil of her emotions prevented her from finding the words, or her concussion was just making her thoughts sluggish.

"Listen," Ruby said, uncrossing her arms. "We're in a bit of foxhole situation here. We have needs. Shit happens. It doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want it too."

"How can you even say that?" Mary groaned.

"Demon, remember? I don't have as many hang-ups about these sort of things as you humans do."

Mary shook her head.

"It's not about hang-ups," she stated. "It's wrong."

"Because I'm a demon or because I used to sleep with Sam?"

"Oh, my God," Mary muttered. As if she needed another reason to feel awful about that situation, she hadn't even looked at it that way.

"Hey, don't worry. The way Sam and I broke up..." Ruby made a face. "Well, if you can call that a break-up. I assure you, there's no love lost between the two of us, so you don't need to feel like you're cucking your son or something."

"Could you just... shut up?!" Mary screamed at her.

Ruby seemed taken aback for a second, but then her usual sarcastic grin returned to her lips and she raised her hands, as if admitting defeat.

"Fine. Pretend like it didn't happen it is." She turned heel to leave the room, but she stopped at the last second. "Although, you know... if we're going to pretend anyway, we might as well have something more to hide.”

“No.”

“I was just saying,” Ruby replied. “We might be staying here longer than we thought. It could be a way to pass the time.”

“No!” Mary repeated.

“Suit yourself.”

And this time, she did leave.

Mary breathed out safely and let herself fall on the bed. Not for the first time, she wondered if it would be possible for her to just leave. She was feeling better and stronger, she could hunt or get wild berries around the forest to eat. Maybe she should have registered the house and see if there was some radio or a satellite telephone, anything that she could call for help in.

Yes, why the hell hadn’t she thought about that before? She searched the room’s closet, only to find the worn out boots she had on when they’d arrived at the forest. It had only been three days, but it felt a million years ago. The guilt ate at her again that she hadn’t started looking for ways to reach out to her boys sooner, but she quashed and kept on moving.

There was nothing useful there, so after breathing in calmly, she went downstairs.

Ruby was nowhere to be found, but she caught a glimpse of her outside, busying herself with the clothesline. So Mary took a moment to look around the kitchen and the broom closet. She didn’t find a radio or a phone, but she did get some shotgun shells that she quickly hid in her jacket pockets. They wouldn’t be useful against a demon, but they at least made her feel more secure to have them. She also put a knife away in her boot.

If she was going to leave the cabin, however, she was going to need supplies. She found water bottles in the fridge and plastic containers with the deer meat Ruby had been feeding her. It wasn’t much, but she would take it. When would be a good time to leave? The night was falling and she figured it was going to be a long, long walk. Early in the morning, she decided. She would take her chances early in the morning.

Now all she needed to do was find a way to prevent Ruby from following her.

She watched the demon through the window. Ruby’s long dark hair fell all the way down to her back. Her round ass wiggled and moved around every time she leaned over to pick another item of clothes. Mary could still feel the ghost of her hands on her naked skin, of her kisses on her mouth and neck. She didn’t think she would forget anytime soon.

An unthinkable idea crossed her mind. She shook her head, mad at herself for even having it, but her options were rather limited.

She opened the fridge, grabbed one of the containers and heated the deer meat on a pot over the stove.

She didn’t want to do it. Did she? Was she lying to herself?

Ruby came back inside before Mary had been able to make a decision about it. She put the deer in a plate and sat down on the aisle, pretending like the demon wasn’t there.

“Very mature,” Ruby said, after a few seconds of Mary eating in silence without even acknowledging her. “So is that what we’re doing now? Silent treatment?”

“I’m not giving you the silent treatment,” Mary said, even though they both knew that was a patent lie.

“Alright, whatever,” Ruby muttered. She flailed down on the armchair, crossed her legs and grabbed a very outdated newspaper. “It’s not like I care.”

She pretended to scan the newspapers, even though there was probably nothing she would find entertaining there. Mary ate as slowly as she could. She knew by the time her plate was empty, that she would have to make a choice.

And ultimately, it wasn’t that hard to come to a decision. There was very little else she could actually do, and besides… when she regretted it later, she could say it had been a matter of desperate measures.

She finished and washed her plate. She didn’t know why she bothered. The owner of the cabin wasn’t going to appreciate their intrusion more if they left everything in good condition, but she needed to keep her hands busy as she gave herself a moment to back down.

So when she walked up to Ruby and stood in front of her in the armchair, she knew she had had every chance to come up with an alternative or to simply wait until the circumstances had changed. She had chosen this instead.

Ruby looked up from the newspaper.

“Did you need something?”

“You were right.”

The demon blinked at her. That was probably the last thing she expected to hear from Mary.

“I’m sorry?”

“About my… hung-ups. I grew up in a different time. Liking other women was still seen as… not right.”

Ruby threw her head back and laughed.

“Well, you should have seen what they did to us in _my_ times.”

“But also, because of who you are… there’s so much history between you and my family,” Mary continued. “However… since you’ve been back, you’ve been trying to help us. I can… appreciate that.”

“Why, thank you,” Ruby replied. Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. “’You’ve made yourself useful’. That has to be the nicest thing one of you _Winchesters_ has said to me…”

Mary leaned on the armchair, with one knee at each side of Ruby’s leg, practically straddling her now. Ruby went quiet, her dark eyes widening at her.

“And you were also right about something else,” Mary added before the demon could interject another of her quips. “I do have needs. I need something to just… take the edge off.”

“Ah. I see,” Ruby said, but she didn’t move to embrace Mary like she had done before. “Are you asking me nicely, momma?”

“There’s no one else here, is there?”

Ruby’s arms snaked around her waist. Mary didn’t even suppressed her shudder when she pulled her in, but when she closed her eyes, waiting for another kiss, hungering for it… it never came.

She opened her eyes again, to find Ruby’s eyes staring darkly at her.

“What are you up to?” she whispered.

“Do I have to be up to something for this to make sense?” Mary asked back.

Ruby tilted her head, thinking about it for a moment.

“I guess not.”

She stood up so fast Mary barely had time to lock her legs around the demon’s waist. She was strong, carrying her easily towards the nearest wall, slamming her back against it before she even clashed her lips against Mary’s. The hunter grabbed unto her, sinking her hands on her shoulders and opening her mouth for her to explore, to consume. Ruby bucked her hips forwards, providing Mary with some much needed friction until a moan escaped her lips.

“That’s what I wanted to hear,” she mumbled.

She carried her upstairs, not missing a step, not swaying under her weight, even nibbling and kissing at Mary’s neck when the hunter felt like she was going to falter in her grip, that she was going to fall. She certainly felt dizzy enough. Every time Ruby grabbed at her, every time she pressed her a little tighter, Mary’s breath got caught in her throat and her heart beat just a little bit faster.

By the time Ruby lowered her down on the bed (harsh, almost like he was dropping her, like she knew that Mary was no delicate doll), her entire body was on feverish and lax. Ruby climbed on top of her, straddling her, and unceremoniously pulled her shirt off. She laughed as she pawed at Mary’s bra.

“Why did you even bother with that thing?” she asked, as she took off her own shirt. Displaying her breasts nakedly, unashamedly. Her nipples were hardened and dark against her olive skin.

Mary had stopped thinking several kisses ago. She was now moving on pure instinct, on pure lust. So that was why she wasn’t surprised when her mouth watered at the sight of them. She sat up and sank her face on Ruby’s cleavage, flicking her tongue out to taste her skin. Ruby moaned and stiffened when Mary took one of her breasts in her mouth, nibbling at it for a moment before she sucked hard and bit into the soft flesh.

“Damn, momma…” she started saying, but Mary didn’t let her continue. She rolled over on the bed, pinning Ruby under her body, covering her mouth with hers so she couldn’t say anymore.

She had caught her by surprise, she realized as she left a trail of kisses on her neck and collarbone, as she let her hands wander down her stomach to the helm of her jeans. Otherwise, Ruby never would have let her take control like that and it became obvious when the demon grabbed at her butt and tried to pull her up again.

Mary paid no mind to her attempts. She continued moving down, undoing the buttons of her jeans and pulling them down. It didn’t surprise her that Ruby didn’t really bother with any other kind of underwear either. The demon kicked as Mary pulled her jeans the rest of the way off her legs, but as soon as Mary was on top of her again, she grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to spin around once again.

Mary put up a fight. She knew she didn’t have much of a chance against the demon’s strength, but she still held her ground, resisting as much as she could and going limp when Ruby tried to kiss at her neck again.

She noticed immediately, of course.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, moving away to look at her face. “I thought you were getting into this.”

“It’s not fair,” Mary said, shaking her head. “You can do whatever you want with me, but I can’t…”

Ruby scoffed. “I thought we were past this… trust issues.”

Her fingers travelled down Mary’s side, so soft and inviting. It would have been so easy to close her eyes and lose herself to the demon’s ministrations and a part of her (a huge part of her that she couldn’t have ignored even if she had wanted to) desired that so badly it was making her ache.

But she needed to get a grip of herself.

“You could make this a little easier on me.”

Ruby squinted her eyes at her and for a second, Mary feared that she was going to see right through her, that she was going to call her bluff. But then she bat down on her ankles, beautiful in her nakedness, with the twilight sun glistening on her skin. Mary’s heart seemed to have swollen in her chest and she wanted to drag her back on the bed with her, tell her to forget about it when Ruby asked:

“What do you have in mind?”

But she didn’t. Instead, she scooted over to the side of the bed, opened the night-table’s drawer and took out the demon cuffs.

Ruby’s eyes glimmered at the sight of them.

“Damn,” she said. “You’re a freak, momma…”

“Are you up for this?”

Ruby threw her head back and laughed. She extended her hands towards Mary, displaying her wrists for her.

Mary placed the cuffs around them. The delicate click as they locked, taking away Ruby’s power, her ability to disappear on her. The demon didn’t seem affected by this at all. She just looked at Mary with a crooked eyebrow and a smirk on her lips.

“So… what do we do now?”

Therein lied the question. It had worked. Mary could leave now, she could walk through the forest knowing the demon wouldn’t be able to follow her. If she would eventually got out of the cuffs or not, she shouldn’t care. She should stop. She had made it as far as she should have.

Instead, she put her hand on the back of Ruby’s head, her fingers tangling in her long black locks, and pulled her in for another kiss. Her mouth tasted like fire.

Ruby fell down on the pillows with ease. She didn’t even resist when Mary lifted up her arms to hook them on the bedpost. She arched her back when Mary started sucking at her nipples again, a sound that made Mary’s entire body burn with want. She was letting herself be carried away, she knew it. She told herself over and over to stop as her mouth travelled down.

Instead, she parted Ruby’s legs and buried her face against her cunt.

She didn’t expect her to find her so wet. Her juices were sliding down her inner thighs, and she licked at them, tasting the sweet and sour on her skin before she moved to flick her tongue at Ruby’s clit. The demon bucked and screamed, shaking and trembling under Mary’s ministrations. It gave her a strange sense of pride, in a way, to know that she was doing this so right that Ruby was coming undone in a matter of minutes.

Mary let her lay down for a few seconds, her chest heaving and her eyes close, before she started again.

Ruby’s squirmed and moved under her, resting one of her legs on Mary’s shoulder. Whenever she stopped moving or went quiet, Mary would just squeeze at her butt or change the angel of her head in order to push her tongue deeper until she got another reaction out of her. She could feel the wetness growing between her own legs, but she focused again and again on the demon’s movements.

“Mary. Mary!” Ruby moaned. She shook and moved her leg away, trying to close them, but it took Mary a few seconds still to realize that she was trying to move her away. She looked up, a little self-conscious over the fact her chin was dripping on the sheets with a mixture of her saliva and Ruby’s juices. Ruby didn’t seem to mind, just smiling at her when Mary wiped at her mouth. “That’s all well and nice, baby, but don’t you want some reciprocity?”

“I’m fine…”

“You’re not,” Ruby cut her off. “I can _smell_ you.”

The animalistic way she said it shocked Mary to her core. She hadn’t realized… she didn’t expect her to…

“Come here,” Ruby told her, jerking her chin towards her. “Don’t you want the best seat in the house?”

Mary moved backwards and stood up at the edge of the bed. This should be it. She had run so many red lights before this point, she couldn’t possibly go any further. She needed to pick up her shirt from the floor and finish with her exit plan.

But what if Ruby grew suspicious?

So, instead, she unbuckled the belt that kept her oversized pants in place and let them pool at her feet, followed closely by her underwear. She climbed on the bed, and dragged herself up to Ruby. As she straddled over her shoulders, as she lowered herself over Ruby’s face, she knew that at some point, she had to stop lying to herself about the reasons she was doing this.

But then Ruby’s tongue found her most sensitive spot and all Mary could do was hang on to the bedpost and let the pleasure waves carried her away.

* * *

It was a while before she could even think about moving. She laid on the bed, with her back turned to the demon, not saying anything. Ruby respected her silence and didn’t try to move or ask her to remove the handcuffs. Their heavy breathings were the only sound in the room.

“Well…” Ruby started.

“Don’t.”

Mary sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed. She could feel Ruby’s stare in the back of her head.

“You already have morning after regrets?” the demon asked. “That was fast.”

Mary looked over her shoulder for the first time. Ruby grinned at her, unaffected.

“You knew I would regret it.”

“Oh, big time,” Ruby said, nodding. “It was the same way with Sam.”

The reminder cut Mary deep. She huffed and stood up, looking for her clothes on the floor, her face burning as she didn’t dare to look at her again.

“Hey, I’m not making comparisons,” Ruby kept saying. “But if I were…”

“Please, stop talking.”

The clothes felt rough on her sensitive skin, but she put them on anyway. She didn’t want to look at the purpling spots where Ruby had kissed her and bitten her. She didn’t want to think about she’d let it get so far.

“Mary,” Ruby called her. Mary didn’t turn: “Hey, if you’re not going to have your way with me again, the least you could do is release me. Not that I’m too uncomfortable right now, but…”

Mary finished tying up her boots and opened the night-table’s drawer to search for the cuff’s keys. She was tempted to throw them out of the window and walked out. That was what she kept telling herself that she had to do, that she had planned all along on doing. She shouldn’t feel bad for Ruby. It had meant nothing.

“Mary?” Ruby called out again.

But she had saved her. She had taken her of Mary while she was hurt. She had… in her way, she had respected her. She hadn’t forced Mary to do anything she didn’t want to do.

And she could lie to herself all she wanted that she hadn’t meant to go all the way with Ruby, that she was just trying to trick her, but she knew it wasn’t true. Mary had wanted this, plain and simple. She had just given herself a convenient excuse to go for it.

She was never just going to leave Ruby there. She knew that now.

“Mary,” Ruby insisted. “Something… something is happening.”

Mary startled and looked at her again. Ruby was twisting and struggling against the cuffs, shaking her head and breathing hard.

“What is it?” Mary asked. “Ruby, what is it?”

Ruby opened her eyes. There was no white in them, just a smooth obsidian surface that reflected Mary’s concerned face like a black mirror.

“Anakag,” Ruby muttered.

Mary hesitated only a second longer before she opened the handcuffs. Ruby sat up, breathing in and out slowly. Her body swayed forwards and she might have fallen on the bed if Mary hadn’t hurried up to catch her.

“What about Anakag?” Mary asked. “Ruby!”

Ruby raised her black eyes at her. Her face was ashen and pale, and her skin burned to the touch like she had a fever when Mary put her hands on her shoulders to hold her up.

“What’s happening?” she insisted in asking. “What is going on?”

Ruby gasped for air and leaned against Mary. A second later, however, she raised her head again, looking like her normal self again. Her eyes were brown and human looking once more and even though there were beads of sweat crowning her forehead, she seemed calm once more.

“He’s gone,” she said.

“What? What does that mean? Is he dead?”

“I… I don’t know,” Ruby said. “He might have just left the forest. I don’t… feel his influence anymore.”

“Wait, does that mean…?”

Ruby’s smile was cutting and dangerous.

“I’m back to full power.”

Mary stumbled a little when she found her hands gasping the open air. It took her a moment to realize what had just happened.

Ruby had done what Mary hadn’t dared: she had disappeared, leaving her there alone.

“Ruby?” she called, and when she got now answer, she cursed under her breath.

Well, that was what she got for trusting a demon. She had no one to blame by herself. She picked herself up from the bed and grabbed one of the jackets she found on the closet, along with a backpack. She would have to take the deer meat for sustenance and all the water she could carry. If she headed north, she might find herself out or find a ranger’s cabin or something.

A terrible thought sent a shiver down her spine: what if Anakag had left the forest because he had managed to kill Sam and Dean? And she had been in bed with a demon, not even sparing a thought for them!

She flew down the stairs, but stopped on her tracks. Ruby stood in the middle of the living room, completely dressed and looked at her over her shoulder.

“I think I can tell where Sam and Dean are,” she said. “At least the general area. Or maybe I can take us back to the car and you can try and call them from there… what?”

Mary realized she was staring at her, open-mouthed, and closed it.

“I… nothing.”

Ruby squinted her eyes at her.

“Did you think I was going to leave you here?”

“If I were you,” Mary said, speaking very slowly, “I would have seen this as my chance to escape.”

Ruby scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, defensive.

“Good thing for you you’re not me, then.”

If Mary knew her a little better, she would have said that she was offended.

“I didn’t mean…”

“Of course you didn’t!” Ruby stopped her, with a sarcastic laugh. “I only nursed you back to health, kept you fed and let you fuck me. Why wouldn’t you think I was going to abandon you and stab you in the back?”

“Ruby…” Mary started and then stopped herself. Was she really about to apologize to a demon for mistrusting her? She needed to get out of that cabin.

But that was the thing, wasn’t it? Everything Ruby had done and said had been the truth. Yes, a lot of it could have been for her own benefit, but…

Mary put the backpack down and leaned against the stair’s rail. She wanted to leave right now and find her boys, but she knew that if she didn’t leave this resolved with Ruby, they were never going to address it. And it would just stay there, floating between the two, unspoken and rotting.

“I don’t know what to make of you,” Mary admitted. “I don’t… my boys warned me about you, about the things you did. And I feel like I can’t trust anything you said or do. That I _shouldn’t_ trust you.”

Ruby kept staring at her, not saying a word. Mary licked her lips, slowly trying to find the words for what she wanted to say.

“But what happened here, what you did for me… what I… felt for you, I just… I can’t reconcile those things. It’s not easy. Can you understand that?”

Ruby’s features softened. She let her arms fall at the sides of her body with a sigh.

“Yeah, I get that. I’ve done… some not so nice things in the past,” she admitted. “In my defense, and you don’t have to believe this, I didn’t know what Lucifer was planning on doing with Sam. I really thought we were going to be rewarded, that he would bring paradise for us all. You spend enough time in Hell, you start believing the propaganda.”

She took a step towards Mary, looking up at her.

“I’m not making the same mistakes again,” she promised. “I’ve changed, Mary. I do want to help you in this fight. And I do…”

She stopped herself, biting her tongue. Mary finished coming down the stairs and stood in front of her.

“And you do what?” she asked.

It took a few seconds of silence before Ruby looked up at her to add:

“And I _do_ want to prove that to you.”

Mary let out a deep breath. She placed her hand on Ruby’s cheek and pulled her in. This time, when she kissed her, the guilt arose in her stomach but she managed to push it back. She felt guilty for a lot of things. But not for kissing Ruby.

She stepped away and circled her cheek with her thumb.

“So what happens now, momma?” Ruby asked, but there was no sharpness to her tone. For once, she sounded truly insecure and more than a little scared of the answer.

“I don’t know,” Mary answered, honestly. “But we’ll figure it out.”

She placed her arms around Ruby’s waist.

“Now, let’s get out of here and find my boys.”

Ruby’s eyes glimmered mischievously.

“Don’t you mean our boys?”

“Ruby…” Mary groaned.

“You’re no fun,” Ruby replied, rolling her eyes.

And with a pulse of her power, they were gone.


End file.
